While the rest of us worry whether smartphones are ruining a generation, Generation Z is quietly and resourcefully inventing a more human future for technology. Creative, clever, and always connected, the cohort of kids born 1995-2015 known as Generation Z, promises to recast everything from community to privacy, from work to culture. And more than anything else, this generation of digital natives is evolving with technology as the foundation of daily life. Grounded in data from hundreds of online research sessions, diaries, and interviews, learn about some of the surprising attitudes and behaviors of Gen Z and discover the ways it will change how we design the next generation of technologies.

1. How Gen Z
will reinvent
technology
@paminthelab
Change Sciences

2. Pamela
Pavliscak
(not meant to be spoken)
@paminthelab
change sciences

3. Kids, tweens, teens
Interviews, diaries, social
listening, public datasets

4. data
despair
reality
WTF
experiments
hope
Today will be epic

5. 25% of the
population
17 & under

14. 60% of GenZ
wants to
MAKE a difference

15. But friendship
seems a bit
different

16. Families are
maybe slightly
different

17. Hey, the world is
kind of
different

18. So how is GenZ
Different?

19. 2000
2004
Elementary School
Born
Wikipedia2001
2002
2003
2005
2006
YouTube & Xbox 360
iTunes & iPad
Twitter
Facebook
9/11
Bush Re-elected
Hurricane Katrina
3GWar in Afghanistan
Space Shuttle Disaster
Dot com Bubble Burst Playstation 2Y2K
Pluto Downgraded

20. 2007
2011
App store & Spotify2008
2009
2010
2012
2013
Vine & Tinder
Instagram & Pinterest & Kik
Whisper
Snapchat & Minecraft & Siri
Great Recession
Obama Elected
iPhone & Tumblr
WhatsApp & Venmo
Middle School
Obama Re-electedMayan end of times
Wikileaks
Ebola
Fukishima Disaster
H1N1

21. 2014
Periscope & Meerkat2015
2016Trump Elected
Amazon Echo
Pokemon Go
2017
High SchoolGoogle glass
Flint Water Crisis
Ferguson

22. 25%of their lives
in front of screens

23. 74%are
on mobile devices

24. 47%
in the bathroom
91%
school
84%
watching TV
92%
in bed
83%
walking
75%
driving
phones everywhere

25. 79%show signs of emotional distress
when kept away from their devices
University of Maryland, 2014

27. Nomophobia, yeah I
think I have that.
Sara, 17
“

29. OK, whatever
What does this mean
for the
future of technology?

30. PrivacyIdentityCommunity
CreativityCommunication
Five factors for the future of technology

31. The future of
community

32. Youth today have
Fewer hangouts

33. So They hangout online

34. Yes even the
Little zs

35. Instagram Twitter Facebook Snapchat Tumblr
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Zs are truly social media natives
Piper Jaffray

36. Community is local &
community is global

37. 26%have social
network friends in
other countries
JWT, 2013

38. Youth are entering grown-up conversations

40. I love taking pictures
with my little sister,
we got silly and
shared it on snapchat
with my friends.
Aliyah, 16
“

41. 82%would give up
their social media
friends for real friends
flickr @pistigriloxp

42. In person
yeah, it’s still a thing

43. Design for authentic
connection
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

44. Much is made of
DARK SOCIAL
flickr @eflorules

46. youtube @nigahiga
43% report being cyber-bullied
NCPC, 2014

47. What I hate about
anonymous is all the
bad behavior. I mean
there is already a lot
of drama.
Anna, 15
“

48. GenZ doesn’t crave
anonymity, they want to
explore identity

49. The future of
IDENTITY

51. It’s not cool to post so
much, I delete posts
that didn’t get a lot
of likes or that just
aren’t me anymore.
Guess,16
“

53. I hate feeling boxed
in, like the machine
is classifying me.
Zizou, 16
“

54. Design for an
exponential self
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

55. The future of
PRIVACY

56. Early Adopters
of new social
networks & new tech,
like wearables

57. Phones aren’t
allowed, but watches
are still OK. I can get
texts in class without
being obvious.
Madison, 11
“

58. 70%admit to
hiding online activities

59. My dad doesn’t like
me watching TV on
my iPad so I hide it
on the last screen.
Eleanor, 6
“

60. 81%use privacy
settings & limit who
can see their posts
flickr @jimmym

61. Difficulty of using privacy
controls: hella
User Experience Post #54731

62. I don’t want random
people knowing all
about me, I use
Instagram Direct or
Snapchat a lot.
Tia, 14
“

63. Default to privacy
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

64. The future of
COMMUNICATION

65. 45%are texting
someone in their house
JWT, 2013

66. Google, 2014
55% of kids do talk to their phone daily
Google, 2014

67. The only email I ever
get is from my
grandparents or from
my apps.
Lizzy, 10
“

68. We do homework
together over Skype,
and talk about what
happened that day.
Video chat is like
hanging out.
Christina, 13 and Emma, 14
“

69. Emojis, Images, video
and yes, sometimes
words

70. Stay Connected
even when there is
not much to say

71. CONVEY A MOOD
show rather than
describe

72. Create a memory
a bond over time

73. Blend
PHYSICAL+DIGITAL

74. Experience something together

75. Design for
meaningful participation
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

76. The future of
creativity

77. Zs Still get Bored
but it’s good for
them, right?

79. Play is about combining
off-screen and on-screen

80. But now they are
creating on screens

81. Zs gift their videos

82. They want to
share their stories

83. Design rich experience
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

84. The future of
The interface

85. The use technology together,
so they learn more quickly

86. Ages 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
The co-use curve

87. Even so, Zs interact
idiosyncratically

88. 12%less successful in
accomplishing what they
set out to do

89. That moment when
people think that I really
know what I’m doing
User Experience Post #36451
even if I’m confused.

90. They regularly use 5 screens
TV
Mobile Phone
Laptop
Desktop
iPod or music player
Gaming console
Tablet
E-Reader
72%
57%
39%
Age 13-17
Age 8-12
72
72
76
39
50
28
33%
25
36
23
24%
28
38
11
4%4
31%
25
12%
5
13

91. 8 seconds
average attention span

93. Poor ergonomics
#droppingphone
#phonedroponface

95. Not enough space
so they delete
(they don’t get cloud storage
& they forgot their password)

96. They usually have the
worst devices in the house

97. Practice inclusive design
What does it mean for
the future of technology?

98. At the mall with
Let’s recap
& got an idea&
to data&
& talked to (Not really) &
&
For
&
with on
If we
Because they are
& sometimes
Its not all & sux
for
(Gen )
&
But they with
with
&
We better for

99. Don’t be scared
1. AUTHENTIC CONNECTION
2. EXPONENTIAL SELF
3. prIVACY BY DEFAULT
4. Meaningful PARTICIPATION
5. RICH EXPERIENCE
6. INCLUSIVE DESIGN

100. Gen Z
and the future
of technology
Pamela Pavliscak
@paminthelab
changesciences.com